The Raiders spent the offseason loading up just about everywhere, but the defensive tackle room was one of the spots left to sort itself out. That decision makes the development of Tonka Hemingway even more important, because the second-year defender is one of the young players Las Vegas needs to hit in a big way in 2026.
Early signs out of training camp suggest Hemingway is doing exactly that.
After being labeled an “ X-factor” and a “ ceiling-raiser” this offseason, Hemingway has already started to look like a player ready for a much larger role. Raiders.com reporter Levi Edwards noted from Thursday’s practice that Hemingway was among the defensive interior players making plays for the Las Vegas defense. Shortly after, ESPN’s Ryan McFadden reported that Hemingway was “heavily involved in the first team defense.”
That is a notable jump for a player who barely got on the field early last season. Before Week 10, Hemingway had appeared in just two games and logged 25 defensive snaps. By the end of the 2025 NFL season, though, he had forced his way into the picture, playing 113 defensive snaps and showing what he could do over the final five games.
The production followed. Hemingway finished with 8 tackles, including 5 for a loss, 4.0 sacks, 6 QB hits and a batted pass.
Now he’s carrying that momentum into camp, and new defensive coordinator Rob Leonard had plenty of praise after practice. Leonard, who coached Hemingway as his position coach during his rookie year, said, “Maturity, consistency,” Leonard said when asked his thoughts on Hemingway.
“He has done everything right that he controls from the offseason. Learned a lot of his routine from Maxx [Crosby].
It’s been fun to watch him develop as a man, as a player, and now he’s got to carry it over to pads.”
That last part matters. Once the pads come on, Hemingway has to prove he can hold up when the work gets real.
He came out of the draft with some questions about whether he was more of a tweener than a true defensive tackle, but he quieted plenty of that noise once he finally got extended run last season. Still, nothing is guaranteed in this new setup.
Klint Kubiak and his staff reset the board this offseason, and the message has been clear: film matters, but camp performance matters too. If Hemingway doesn’t win his spot, he won’t be handed snaps just because of what he showed late last year.
For now, though, the early returns are encouraging. Edwards said Hemingway stood out as both a run defender and a pass-rusher on Thursday, and he was grouped with Adam Butler and Jonah Laulu as part of the defensive interior picture, while Thomas Booker IV was described as being “in contention.”
That’s a meaningful shift from last season, when Booker IV opened as a starter and Hemingway was inactive on many game days. It’s still early, and no one is sounding alarms either way after only a few camp practices. But these reps matter, and Hemingway appears to have moved ahead of the pack in the early going.
The Raiders need depth and production inside, and Hemingway looks like he might be ready to give them both. The breakout fans were waiting for is starting to show itself.
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